2

The building was dark, so I reluctantly returned to the room I just escaped from. The lights from that room could work as a temporary flashlight.

When there was light, I could see the rusty railings to my right. It was of sheer luck that i did not run into it while escaping, since it would break and I would fall into the deep below.

I peeked my head over the railings but could see nothing but total darkness, like a pool of black ink.

What the small amount of light illuminated for me gave me some clues.

This looked like some kind of factory.

The structure was an upside-down U, since I could see the corridor on the other side, but it was so faint I could not make out any details. Looking up, I could estimate the height of this building.

There might be about 4 floors.

…But…the exit must be down below…

I concluded according to my common sense, but as I set out to find stairs, I saw something very out of the ordinary.

Across the black pool of darkness, a room was open!

Even though I am dead sure that it was totally dark a moment ago, when I turned around, a blinking light shone from the opposite corridor.

Why are there lights…? Short circuit?

Impossible… if there was a problem with the circuit, multiple lights should lit up. Someone must have switched them on… but who?

Was it the guy… that killed those…corpses?

I hesitated. Should I make a run? In the end I decided to find out what exactly the lights were. Standing around would not help. Lights from this floor would not reach the floor below anyway, and walking in the dark blindly was more dangerous than what I might find.

With the tiny light as my guide, I made it across without hitch.

The source of the light was a room within a room. I could see an old door opened ajar.

And in the gap between the door and the frame was… a man.

"Are you alright?!?"

I yelled, but the man lay face down without moving. I could not see his face for the black rimmed gla.s.ses he wore. His upper body was visible but his lower half was swallowed by the door. I thought about the horrendous amount of friction these doors had. Maybe this man tried to find a way to open it and fainted from exhaustion.

I made my way around the door to help, but at that moment the door set ajar gradually… opened. Then I saw it.

That man… the door didn"t hide his lower half from view.

He didn"t have a lower half to being with!!

His body was cut from waist down. Red, coiling guts served as a connection between his two halves. The pile of innards dragged on for half a meter until it met with its other half.

There, above the slimy ma.s.s of organs, another man stood.

"You…"

The mysterious man behind the door gasped softly, as if surprised to see me. He was a young man around eighteen or nineteen, had a friendly face and a polite stance, and wore a suit. If this was a school he would be the role model student.

But even if this man in front of me was a monk, I wouldn’t trust him, since there"s a mess of organs and body parts scattered all around his feet.

"s.h.i.t!! Don"t come near me!! Don"t!!!"

I pointed the pipe at him. My will to survive crumbled to ashes because of the horrors I had witnessed. I swung the metal piece around, and stepped backwards until my back hit a wall.

The man stood still, not because of my command or because I had a weapon. He stood there with a slightly surprised expression, and raised both his hands slowly, like a convict turning himself in.

"Calm down, if you think I am the one who killed them, you are mistaken…"

"How could I believe you?! It"s clear as day you"re with these corpses!!"

The young man in black suit sighed.

"I saw the lights so I came. You are here because of the lights too, am I correct?" The young man reasoned soundly, contradicting the abnormal situation.

"Moreover, how would I tear this man"s body apart without a weapon? Using my hands?"

That"s true. There was no weapon in the room. If you wanted to slice something, you would need a saw, an axe, or something sharp enough. Also, the young man"s body was clean, without a spot of blood on it… compared to me…

"I will not blame you. I understand if you are paranoid in a situation like this…"

"You…were brought here too?"

I asked reluctantly.

"Ah…yes."

The young man answered. His friendly tone and smile gave me comfort. At least this was the first living human I had met here. I let my arms dangle, feeling drained.

"And you…umm…"

"Ariya. My name is Ariya."

Ariya. I repeated his name, in case I recall something, but my brain was blank.

"…So Ariya, do you know where we are?"

"We are in an abandoned factory. What about you? …Do you remember how you got here?"

"No…I can"t…I…have amnesia."

"Oh, so that"s why. Amnesia, huh?"

Ariya didn"t look surprised. If I were to describe it, he looked more excited. He seemed like a doctor meeting a patient with a rare case.

"So, have you checked your wallet or searched for any clues on your belongings?"

That"s right, why haven"t I thought of that?

I searched through my entire body but found only a sc.r.a.p of public bus ticket in my pocket.

I shook my head.

"…Vakin…"

Ariya, who was watching me, spoke as if calling someone.

…Someone"s name…

"Vakin? Is that my name?"

"Even if you"re not sure it"s your name, but if you do not have a name to go by, we might have some trouble communicating."

It"s as he said. Always using "you" and "I" was kind of awkward.

But if Vakin really is my name, then why do I not feel familiar with it? Like ripples from a rock gone within an instant.

I swallowed my confusion regarding my name…

…or someone"s name, down my throat…

No matter what, escaping is top priority.

"So Ariya, can you get me out of here?"

"It"s a pity, but I searched the bottom floor and the front door appear to be locked tightly with a chain, on top of it. We need pliers to remove them. The windows are all sealed with planks."

From Ariya"s testimony, it was clear that we were trapped without a way out.

I felt down, but worrying would not help in this situation. Thinking about it, at least now I have a friend.

What did the old proverb say…?

Oh yeah, two are better than one…

"Anyways, let"s search some more. There must be an exit somewhere."

Ariya watched my enthusiasm and nodded.

"By the way… "Vakin", do you happen to have a flashlight?"

I shrugged.

"Wish I did. You don"t have it too, right?"

Ariya didn"t reply, but walked over the the body cut in two.

The man"s body gave off b.l.o.o.d.y smell. I covered my nose and avoided looking at the corpse by fixing my eyes on Ariya, but I could not believe my eyes.

He searched the corpse calmly!

"What the heck are you doing?!?"

"Walking blindly is dangerous. At least we should have something to light our path."

Ariya talked as if it was common sense, while his hands touched all pockets of the corpse. His clean hands were stained with blood, but he did not care.

Not long after, Ariya held up a tiny flashlight and a cell phone he found in one of the pockets. He tried calling with the phone.

But only a minute after, he shook his head.

"No signal. Well, at least we could use it for a flashlight."

Ariya held onto the phone and pa.s.sed me the tiny flashlight with a smile…

With his b.l.o.o.d.y hands.

I felt disgusted, but took the flashlight anyway. Ariya seemed to notice my expression.

"Sorry. I guess you do not like these kind of things."

"Of course I don"t!"

I bursted.

"Especially these…these dead bodies!! Don"t you feel a tiny bit disturbed by them!?! These frozen limbs can"t do anything they want… they could only rot and rot without anyone knowing, and someday fade into oblivion, just like that! It"s pathetic…"

"…Because of that…you like "being alive"?"

Ariya asked calmly, without pressing for an answer. Still, his eyes stared directly into mine as if trying to see through my soul.

"Some day us mortals will die. It is an unavoidable fate. Why not spend your life thinking about death, so that you are aware of it and be ready when it comes?"

I didn"t know why Ariya asked that question, but I could not help but answer. Maybe I just wanted to rea.s.sure myself about finding a way out of this abandoned factory.

"Life is invaluable. Since the beginning of time, humans were destined to be alive. That is why we need to live purposefully. The harder one"s efforts, the more one"s life will shine brightly for all to see…that"s what I believe."

I answered with confidence, while deep in my heart I felt torn.

These words that came from my heart…was it someone else"s idea?

Why do I crave it so much…?

"Huh…even with amnesia, one"s thoughts never change…"

Ariya"s voice was quiet, and that made me curious.

"Ariya…you know me, don"t you?"

"I know a man called "Vakin"."

Ariya smiled. It did not sound like a lie, but it was unsettling nonetheless.

Something"s hidden behind his smile.

"Anyway, let"s go. You do not want to stay next to the corpse for a long time, am I right? Even though I am used to it."

Ariya"s words cut my train of thoughts. I glanced sideways at the corpse and turned on my flashlight.

Thinking about it wouldn"t help here…

Even if I could not remember a thing…

I had a feeling that it would get better from here on.

[Comment:

Death is inevitable was what Ariya said. I did not notice on my first few read-throughs but when I actually took this book up and translated it, I realized that is a very Buddhist idea.]

A QUICK GUIDE TO p.r.o.nOUNCE THESE GUY"S NAMES:

Ariya – although spelled the same way in English, it"s p.r.o.nounced differently from the LPGA champion Ariya Jutanugarn. Her name"s p.r.o.nounced Eh-ree-yah. The Ariya in this novel has his name p.r.o.nounced: Ah-ree-ya, with the "a" being a short "ah".

Vakin – we"re not sure if he"s really the "Vakin" or Ariya is messing around. "Vakin" is p.r.o.nounced Vah-kin. (The Va is p.r.o.nounced like the British "vase" where the a is an aaaaahh. The kin is p.r.o.nounced the same way as "kinship".)

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